Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-10-29
IN THE CELLAR.

Tho siege was over at last, and the most
strongly fortified city in the Confederacy
was in the hands of the Federals.
Among the few citizens remaining in
the captured stronghold was Henry Gates
When his friends fled from the place
Gates refused to go. His wife had been
killed by shell during the siege, and he
no longer felt interested in anything.
eff they will let me alone" he said, s'it
is all l ask. am going to shut myself
up here at home, and nobody will be both
cred by me-"
But it was not an easy matter for Gates
to live undisturbed in his big house. The
Federal soldiers could not resist the temp
tation to help themselves to everything that
struck their fancy. Gates gloomy resi-
dence, standing at some distance from the
other houses, attracted their attention.
The servants had left the city with the
Confederates, and as Gates never showed
himself, the looters were under the i'm
preston that the place was deserted
One day several stout fellows rushed in
and stripped the garden. They pulled up
the corn, tomatoes, cabbages, turnips and
beans, and left the ground perfectly bare.
Then they invaded the back lot and car
ried off a COW and calf.
The owner of the property watched
these proceedings from a window, and
silently nursed his wrath.
But this was only the beginning. In
an clubhouse two bales of cotton and some
tobacco had been stored. Gates had made
the investment thinking that if the city
was captured he would be able to turn
the cotton and tobacco into greenbacks.
Naturally, his indignation was unbounded
when he woke up one morning and found
a crowd of soldiers loading his hidden
treasure into an army wagon.
He ran out of the house and remon-
strated wildly with the robbers, but they
merely laughed at him. Finally two of
the men tied him to a tree and gagged
him. Then they jumped into the wagon
and drove off. In little while Gates
tore himself loose. He went into the
house and locked the doors.
As the day wore on he worked himself
into fury.
Life is not worth living" he said, ''if
l must submit to these outrages. If 1
can't have my rights I'll have bloodr'
He spent some time looking through
the house, and at last he found an old
bowie knife. With smile of satisfaction
he seized the murderous weapon, and the
next hour or two was spent in whetting
it, and he did not lay it aside until it was
as sharp as q razor.
"Now let them co1neI' he muttered.
At Il late hour that night Gates was
awakened by noise in one of the lower
rooms. Leaping from his bed, he took
his knife and glided down stairs The
moonlight enabled him to see every object
in his way.
When he reached the foot of the stairs
he paused to listen. He could not be mis-
taken. He heard the sound of shutting
feet in a back room. Turning the door
knob quietly he ran against burly ruff
fan in blue,
''For Gods saker' said the soldier,
when he saw the appraised knife.
His appeal was useless. Once, twice,
thrice the deadly steel descended, and the
victim fell with the death rattle in his
throat
Gates reeled back half stunned when he
saw what he had done. All his life he
had been a man of peace. 1t was an
awful sight to see that white, dead face
with the staring eyes.
The slayer had no time to lose. He
closed the window through which the in
truder had entered, and then began to
think about the concealment of the body.
1t would not do to stand the consequences
Of his act. He could not hope for justice.
The Federals would kill him without q
trial.
In an instant his plan was matured.
He lifted the dead man by the shoulders
md dragged him down into the cellar.
The place was favorable for the conceal
ment of the body. The work of walling
the sides of the cellar had been suspended
during the siege, and the floor was Uttered
with fragments of granite and other ma
terial left by the masons.
The body was carefully deposited in q
corner, and Gates struck match, but at
once extinguished it. He went to work
in the dark, and in less than ten minutes
he had covered the lifeless heap in the
corner with pile of rubbish.
There was no more sleep that night for
Gates He wandered from room to room,
thinking and planning. When morning
came he looked into mirror and gave a
cry of horror. His face was pinched and
haggard, and his hair, so black and glossy
the day before, was threaded with gray!
The long day of anxiety and terror
came to an end, but Gates had found it
impossible to do anything. So many SOL
diers were moving about that he was
afraid to go to work in the cellar. He
went down several times and made lot
Of mortar, and got everything in readiness
for his nights work.
He had decided to finish the cellar wall
at the end that had been left uncom-
pleted, and behind the wall he would
hide the body. When the job was done
he would feel secure.
At midnight he saw that the doors and
windows were barred and fastened. In
the cellar he covered the single grating
that ventilated it, and placed his lamp in
q convenient position.
The next thing to do was to remove the
body. Gates pulled away the rubbish
and peered into the dark corner. A puz-
zled look came over his face, and, painting
for breath, with his heart leaping into his
mouth, he seized the lamp and looked
again.
Before him lay the man he had killed,
and by his side was stretched another
dead man, soldier like the other, and
his breast showed three CHASTITY wounds
Gates felt his limbs give way under
him, and his brain was in whirl.
When he came to his senses he had to
rehght his lamp. He looked at his watch
and found that his fainting fit had lasted
half an hour.
Half crazed rs he was, there was more
necessity than ever for his work. He
took q drink from his brandy flask and
started in like giant. A place was hol-
lowed in the earth. and the two bodies
were jammed in. Then block after block
OF granite was laid and the mortar was
lavishly applied.
The frantic man seemed to be gifted
with superhuman energy. By daylight
the work was finished. The debris was
gathered up and carried out with the
tools, the floor was swept, and several
empty barrels and boxes were brought
down and placed against the walls.
Gates felt like q new man. He dressed
himself with care and began to move
about in the city. Instead of stunning
companionship he sought it. All the TINT
he was on the alert. Was he suspected